He is known as “Wolf OR7” and, according to a Department of Fish and Game (DFG) spokesman, he is the first gray wolf to be seen in California since 1924.
Wolf OR7 crossed into Siskiyou County from Oregon on Dec. 28. He is radio-collared and wildlife biologists are tracking him with GPS. He was last tracked on Jan. 11 south of Alturas in Modoc County. He has been tracked for more than 600 miles and biologists say he is a 2-year old male and is probably looking for a female.
Wolf OR7 was born into an Oregon pack that originally came from Idaho, where federal wildlife biologists reintroduced the species in the 1990s. OR7”s appearance has caused some concern among ranchers near the Oregon border because they are worried he will attack their livestock. It”s true that gray wolves feed on deer, elk and even livestock, but just one wolf is unlikely to cause much damage. Actually, since he won”t meet up with any of his species he will probably return to Oregon and rejoin his pack.
Wolves have always held a special fascination for me. I grew up around timber wolves in Northern Minnesota near the Canadian border. A timber wolf is the same as a gray wolf. When I was a boy back in the early 1950s my father trapped timber wolves for their bounty. At that time the government paid a $35 bounty for every timber wolf caught. He used either leg-hold traps or special wolf snares. Once you trapped and killed the wolf you would present the carcass to the local game warden who would cut off the left ear and write you a check for the $35. In those days $35 was a lot of money. The bounty on wolves was removed in 1965 as they became fully protected.
A gray wolf is a large animal and the average male weighs between 75-125 pounds and stands 36 inches high at the shoulders. They have extremely large heads and big teeth. The largest wolf every recorded weighed 175 pounds and was taken in Alaska in 1936. They have one of the strongest bites in the entire animal world and can crush a large leg bone of a deer or elk with ease.
Wolves are rarely seen. Of all the years I hiked the woods in Northern Minnesota and Canada I have only seen a couple of timber wolves and they were just glimpses. My brother recently told me that a large timber wolf has been coming into his yard at night. He lives near International Falls, Minnesota. This is extremely rare behavior for a wolf. Whereas a sighting of a wolf may be rare, they are often heard howling. Just about every evening we would hear a pack of wolves howl in the woods behind our cabin.
Unlike a coyote howl, which is high-pitched, a timber wolf has a deep and long howl. Like most predators they hunt primarily at night and howling serves to maintain contact with the pack. In the wild a gray wolf can live to as long as 12 years but most never make it past five years. They suffer the same diseases as domestic dogs, distemper being a major mortality factor.
Gray wolves were reintroduced in many western states and several even have a limited hunting season. In California it”s illegal to kill a wolf. The Oregon pack numbers only five animals but it is growing. Most experts say that gray wolves will become established in California but it will take several years. Actually the state has ideal habitat for wolves. There are a number of remote wilderness areas that could support a small pack of wolves.
Despite their size and hunting ability there has never been a documented case of a wolf attacking a human in North America. As for preying on livestock, it does happen but it”s rare. When I was a boy we ran cows and other livestock in the woods around our cabin and none were ever attacked by a wolf. There is something about a wolf howling at night that makes being in the woods very special.
